Rick Steves is known for his travel guides through Europe, but he also is someone who supports legalized marijuana.
Speaking in Chicago on Tuesday, he said at a press conference, “This is not a pro-pot movement. This is an anti-prohibition movement.”
Steves was appearing in Chicago with Illinois lawmakers who are pushing a state legalization bill. He testified with around 20 lawmakers from the state who are holding a series of hearings to propose legalize marijuana. If passed, the bill will allow adults who are 21 and older to possess up to 28 grams of the drug and five plants.
According to the travel guide guru, those who smoke marijuana are doing it already and if they do, it should be taxed and regulated instead of bought in the underground market. “My friends in Europe consider a joint about as exciting as a beer,” Steves said.
He did however admit that “it’s not good for you. It can be abused,” but believes the laws that prohibit marijuana are unfairly applied to people of color and those who are poor.
State Sen. Dan McConchie argued Steve’s opinion and said, “There’s been a number of broad-brush statements that you have made … but the data does not bear that out. Just because you legalize it doesn’t necessitate that all of these problems are going to go away. … I think we would be jumping the gun to legalize this in the absence of robust data.”
